Chinese electronics and mobile communications OPPO has disclosed a new partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).

As part of the partnership, the firm will become the first official smartphone partner and first-ever Asian partner of The Championships at Wimbledon.

OPPO, a global smart device brand, already possess a strong pedigree of partnerships in sport as the official mobile phone partner to FC Barcelona and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Under the five-year agreement, which begins for The Championships 2019, OPPO says the partnership “demonstrates the mutual opportunity presented when two brands come together to grow their presence in key developing markets.”

It hopes using the strength of the Wimbledon brand will increase its presence across the UK and Europe – with Wimbledon benefitting from OPPO’s strong Chinese presence.

Brian Shen, VP at OPPO, commented: “We are thrilled to announce we are the first Asian partner of The Championships, Wimbledon. The Championships have a strong synergy with our brand values of prioritizing innovation and design in our products.

“We are confident this partnership will further strengthen our expansion plans across the European marketplace and in turn our communication globally.”

To showcase the collaboration, some of the best photos taken on the firms smartphones will be selected for inclusion in a “OPPO Wimbledon photo gallery.”

There will also be an ‘OPPO Breakthrough Award’ will also be presented by OPPO to honour young players who make major breakthroughs competing at Wimbledon.

Launch of the partnership was marked by a ceremonial signing between Brian Shen, Tim Henman and Mick Desmond.

The Dongguan-based company also said it will also play a “significant role” in support of the professional grass court season and the promotion of the AELTC’s grass court strategy, which aims to provide enhanced opportunities for juniors to compete on grass courts at all stages of their development.

Mick Desmond, commercial & media director, AELTC, commented: “We are delighted to welcome OPPO to the family of Official Suppliers to The Championships, and we very much look forward to seeing the OPPO smartphones bring Wimbledon’s iconic beauty to life for our audiences around the world.”

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